


A place to cry a goodbye.

by LittleSweetCheeks



Series: The Hearth Series [6]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: College, Family, Father/Son, Gen, Growing Up, Moving Away, letting go, life stages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 09:04:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13361232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSweetCheeks/pseuds/LittleSweetCheeks
Summary: College was one of those things every parent expected but no parent actually ever prepared for.





	A place to cry a goodbye.

** A place to cry a goodbye. **

College was one of those things every parent expected but no parent actually ever prepared for. Sure, they would dream of the day they wouldn’t find dirty plates on the couch and smelly socks in the bathroom, of coming home and finding food where it was left in the fridge. That was all well and good. But parents never thought about not having someone there when you walked through the door, about not having someone to cook for or do their laundry.

And maybe it was easier if their child was at college nearby, able to drop by on the weekends and disrupt things, but it was exponentially worse when they were going overseas.

With the support of Emily and Spencer (and Aaron suspected a bit of Dave), Jack had managed to get into the University of Oxford. Aaron was beyond happy that he’d not only achieved it, but had somehow managed to keep that he’d even applied a secret until the day the acceptance letter arrived. For the moment, Jack was still keeping his desired major a secret.

Aaron looked up from the table as Jack entered the kitchen, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder, wearing khakis and a pullover. His hair was still blonde, but was cut similar to his dad’s now. “All set?” Aaron heard his voice crack as he asked.

“Yeah, this is the last of it. Everything else Aunt Emily had shipped.” Jack shifted from foot to foot. “Look, Dad. Promise me… promise me you won’t just stay cooped up around here?”

He gave his son a curious look.

“I’ve already talked to everyone and if they tell me your hiding yourself away, I’ll drop out and come straight home.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Then don’t do what you do.” Jack tried to smile. “Look. The others will be back in in a minute and I wanted to tell you without them around. I wanted to give you one last thing, a good thing, to think about as I leave.”

“What’s that?”

“My degree… I’m going to be studying law, international law hopefully. I know you were a lawyer for a while and I… I’ve talked to everyone for two years at least.”

“Everyone?”

He nodded. “First Emily because she’s worked overseas a few times and then Spence because he knows…everything. Then JJ and Derek about talking to you and Penelope to make sure I was safe, the you would be looked after. And Dave because… because he knows things you don’t tell anyone else.” Jack met his father’s eyes. “We talked a lot about me going into law and…becoming maybe some sort of…international cop I guess. I know it’s dangerous but… I feel drawn to it.”

Aaron’s mind processed everything his son was saying. Jack had been planning this for _years._ And his family knew. “I… You’ve put a lot of thought into this.”

“Yes.”

“Well.” Aaron stood and gave him a hug to hide the tears in his eyes. “You’ll be great, Jack.” He pulled back and stared up _(up!)_ at his son. “And I will support you every step of the way. If you need anything…”

“Yeah. I know.” Footsteps made him look back to see Morgan standing in the doorway. Turning back to his dad, he asked. “Are you sure you don’t want to drive to the airport with us?”

“No. You- you go on. I’m not sure I could handle letting you go in public like that.” Aaron stood in the middle of his kitchen and watched his son walk away. His eyes were already filming over with tears when Morgan turned back and whispered that they’d be back soon. Once the door clicked softly shut, the tears came and his face crumbled as he cried over his son becoming an adult.

 


End file.
